Generation Gap

I once read that every generation is a "melting pot" of different kinds of people, yet every generation is united in an "age location" in history. In my opinion, that statement is quite true. Though in each generation there are all kinds of different people, somehow we still relate or understand one another to a certain extent, having grown up in the same "era", having experienced the same environment, same pop culture etc.

Something I always thought though, was that generation gaps usually occured between "generations" (e.g. parents and children). How wrong I was. Perhaps its how quickly the society is moving forward now that you don't need to wait for your kids' generation before generation gap kicks in!

I was on the bus home earlier when 3 young kids who reeked of alcohol boarded and stood right next to me. I call them kids because a) all 3 were shorter than me (ok, so I was in my heels, but all 3 were definitely less than 1.65m. b) the 2 boys' voices were definitely "pre-crack". and c) the girl was holding a secondary 1 mathematics text book. They were speaking quite loudly so I really couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

Boy A to Girl A : Are you ok? Feel like puking? Don't worry ok? If you really feel unwell, we can alight and rest at Hotel 81. *I cringe*

Girl A to Boy A : Why of all places must be Hotel 81? What you want to do to me? *I shudder*

Boy B to the couple : Eh, I want to join in leh. Can I go also? (Boy B then puts his arm around Girl A's waist, only to be pushed away by Boy A. Boy A then hugs Girl A closely.)

Boy A to Girl A : Don't worry, I will take care of you. So you want to go? *I cringe and shudder and silently scream NO*

Girl A to Boy A : Don't want, later they check our IC how? *I faint*

Call me old fashioned, but these kids really freaked me out! During my time, puppy love meant writing sweet notes to each other, sharing some fries and nuggets at the neighbourhood McDonalds after school, talking on the phone for hours, holding hands, maybe an innocent peck on the cheek.

Has that all changed? Well, I sure hope this is just a unique one-off case and not reflective of how today's kids behave or I really am going to think twice about having kids. *cross fingers and toes*

Anything? Whatever!

Recently, there has been 2 very interesting advertisements on TV....2 pretty localised TV ads selling 2 new ranges of canned beverage called.....Anything and Whatever! *haha* These tongue-in-cheek ranges were inspired by the very Singaporean culture of asking for "anything" or "whatever" when asked what we want to drink, or eat, or do, for that matter!
Now, the "Anything" range features 6 effervescent drinks like Cola, Cola with Lemon, Apple, Fizz Up, Cloudy Lemon, and Root Beer. The "Whatever" range, on the other hand, features 6 non-effervescent drinks like Ice Lemon Tea, Peach Tea, Jasmine Green Tea, White Grape Tea, Apple Tea, and Chrysanthemum Tea.

The catch? Each "Anything" and "Whatever" can looks identical with no labels to indicate its flavour, and the only way to find out is by popping it open and taking a sip! (http://anything.com.sg)

Personally, I feel this idea, though pretty novel, will die off when the dust settles. Afterall, when we say "Anything" or "Whatever", how many of us really mean it literally? Many a times, we already have something in mind, or at least something we know we don't want. How many of us really want to be surprised only after we pop the can open? What if someone only likes 4 of the 6 flavours in the range? Are you ready to take the risk of being disappointed with your least preferred flavours when you can actually just purchase another drink and be sure it won't disappoint?

So, think twice the next time you want to ask for "Anything" or "Whatever" coz that's exactly what you are gonna get!

3 movies in a week!

Colin and I caught 3 movies over the past week! Pirates of the Caribbean 3 : At World's End, and Spiderman 3 were the 2 movies that I enjoyed (for quite different reasons). The 3rd movie was 28 weeks later, something that Colin enjoyed more than I did coz I am quite a scaredy-cat when it comes to scary or gory movies.

The Pirates sequel was unfortunately a little draggy and almost threatened to sink for me somewhere in the middle, and I also thought Chow Yun Fatt's role as Sao Feng, the Pirate Lord of Singapore seemed a tad overacted and to me, he somehow paled in comparison against the more believable Captain Barbossa, played by Geoffrey Rush. Perhaps Ken Watanabe would have done a better job in this role.

The saving grace for the Pirates sequel, apart from Geoffrey Rush, was most definitely Johnny Depp, who stole the entire show in his role as Captain Jack Sparrow! To say that Johnny Depp is the soul of this movie series is really an understatement!

Over to Spiderman 3. This Spidey sequel tried to pack in too many sub-plots, too many characters, that it kinda diluted the heroism of Spiderman. Some of the fights against the sub-standard villains lacked punch though others were quite exciting, thanks to the special effects that resulted in this sequel being the most expensive Spiderman movie ever made so far.

Tobey Maguire seemed a little pudgy in this sequel, and while Colin always felt there was too much emphasis on Peter Parker's lovelife in this series, I had always enjoyed the "softer" parts of the movies, though I must admit that in this particular sequel, I found the 2 additional female characters (a girl with whom Spidey shared a kiss and his weird, adoring neighbour) quite redundant.

That said, I still enjoyed this Spidey sequel more than the Pirates sequel!

Finally, 28 weeks later. Six months have passed since the rage virus has annihilated the British Isles. The U.S. Army declares that the war against infection has been won, and that the reconstruction of the country can begin. As the first wave of refugees return, a family is reunited--but one of them unwittingly carries a terrible secret. The virus is not yet dead, and this time--showing no outward symptoms--it is more dangerous than ever.

Fans of gory thrillers (like my husband Colin) will definitely enjoy 28 weeks later, a sequel to 28 days later. I, unfortunately, spent most of the movie covering my eyes with my shawl, so really, all I can say is that, it did sound pretty scary! :)

Celebrity Face?

Last weekend, I read in the papers about a face-recognition website (www.myheritage.com) that matches your face with those of celebrities...thought it would be quite cool to find out which celebrities i most resembled! The website is really easy to use. All you have to do is upload photos of yourself (preferably frontal face shots) and you get your results! I uploaded a total of 4 photos and here are my results! Bet you never ever spotted the resemblance between Ashton Kutcher and I! hahaha! Uploaded one of Colin's photos as well, and as a lot of my friends have told me, he bears strong resemblance to Jacky Cheung! :)

3 months....and counting..

Today marks the 3rd month of my being a home-maker. Was just telling a friend that day, that when I started the blog, I titled it "Diary of a home-maker wannabe", coz at that time, I truly had no idea what or how to be a home-maker. After these 3 months of OJT, I would like to think that I have since been "confirmed" in the position! Just this morning, I pulled a mean bargain buying ginger, slicing 10 cents off the quoted price! (hey, that's like a 33% savings!) After pulling that victory over the aunty, I engaged her in some friendly banter and she even agreed to save some fresh vegetables for me tomorrow! That surely is not something any wannabe can pull off right? :)

Coming back to the 3 months, it also means I have left Aryan for 3 whole months! Two nights ago, incidentally, I met up with my ex-colleagues from Aryan for dinner.That's me and my pretty ex-colleague Rain.
Here are the other 2 of my pretty but camera-shy ex-colleagues, Serena (top) and On You (bottom). *Ha*After not seeing me for a while now, the girls all commented that I looked more "voluptuous" / "full-bodied" but also much healthier and happier! :)

To make up for not having dinner with Colin that night, I cooked him a simple lunch earlier that day.Tried cooking Ma You Chicken (Sesame Oil Chicken) for the very first time. Grew up loving this simple yet tasty dish. First, skin, de-bone, and chop 3 chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Marinate in sesame oil, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp shaoxing wine. Heat pan. Add 1 tbsp sesame oil and 5 slices of ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Add Chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp dark soy sauce for colour and taste. Dash of shaoxing and sesame oil and simmer for 2 more minutes. Though the dish didn't turn out looking too good, but the tender, succulent, full-flavoured chicken more than made up it!
Also cooked him his favourite Caixin, Beansprouts with Tau Kwa and Fish cake, and Baby Dou Miao

Life's greatest blessings

I once read that love from one's family is life's greatest blessings. If that is true, then I must be so very blessed coz I have a fabulous family full of love. My family is not the kind who only gets together during CNY and weddings, but one that is very close-knit and where my parents and their siblings get together every single weekend.

My paternal family just had a gathering last evening to celebrate, apart from Mother's Day, my Grandpa's 80th Birthday. When Colin and I arrived, we met Er Shu who was frantically waiting for the Vegetarian caterer at the entrance of his condo. We learnt that the caterer was more than 30 minutes late and was not contactable on phone! Grandpa had wanted to have a Vegetarian meal on his birthday but apparently the caterer had totally forgotten our order! *GOSH*

When the problem was announced to all in the multi-purpose room of Er-Shu's condo, everyone sprang into action! No, there was no finger-pointing, nor was there any anger or frustration. Instead, everyone just chipped in and tried to help. 3 teams (dad's generation) were despatched to 3 different vegetarian stalls to "da bao" a variety of items, while 2 other teams (my generation) went to get KFC for the kids and some baguette for the vegetarian curry which my aunty had gone to buy.

The remaining people just chatted and kept my grandparents entertained while they patiently awaited the arrival of the food. As each team came back with their purchases, they were greeted with applause and cheer, and though we finally started the dinner only after 8pm, everyone was in high spirits and the food tasted really great!

This incident, though simple, really reminded me of how lucky I am to have a family that pulls together in times of trouble! :)
Laying out our vegetarian spread Gong Gong happily tucking in to his "Longevity" noodles Da Gu Gu and cousin Valerie. A lot of people have commented that Val and I look alike and have similar mannerisms. A group of Val's friends had even approached me on the streets of Tokyo and asked if we were related! What do you think? Er Shu and Reiki. Reiki totally stole the show when he made his appearance in the multi-purpose room where we had our party We sang Gong Gong's birthday song in English, Mandarin, and Teochew! The Ang Family Me and my cutesy cousin ChristabelPicture of us taken by aspiring photographer Christabel

Smell the Roses

I was taking out my trash yesterday when I saw the beautiful evening skyline from my 20th floor flat. It dawned to me that many of us are always so busy, rushing against time, balancing all the demands in our lives that we do not "have time" to stop and smell the roses. I just am so thankful that I managed to take this break from working and really rest. I mean, really.

Though I did take regular vacations when I was previously working, I kinda always had work at the back of my mind during those trips and I really dreaded the end of the vacation, dreaded the night before coming back to the office to face all that piled up work and emails! Now, everyday is a holiday for me! My body and mind are really well rested and I am ready to embark on my next step, which is to search for a new job (well, the need to pay bills does not just disappear with one's happiness!)

Anyway, I had an interesting conversation with my mum just now! I was sharing with her about me embarking on my job search, and she told me, "Ah girl, just find a simple job and don't do Marketing jobs anymore lah."

I was both frustrated and bewilded by Mum's words. Firstly, I am in HR, not in Marketing! So while I got frustrated at her not knowing what I did for a living, it also dawned on my that it could have been that I had not put in enough effort to keep her updated on what I did! Our usual conversations were short and sweet, focussing mostly on our general well-being and not so much of intimate sharing. Mmm...made a mental note to spend more time talking to my folks.

Secondly, I don't think there is any "simple" job in this world that can pay what I am expecting currently. So, its either I lower my expectations on salary and find something "simpler" or I bite the bullet and go back into the rat race! It really is a constant struggle (like i'm sure for many other people) to balance the need to maintain a certain lifestyle, finding a fulfiling job that keeps one's brain alive, and on top of all that, have time for the family!

Ok, back on a lighter note, have a look at what I have been busy with the past 2 weeks of not blogging! Colin and I took a 2-day golfing trip to Bintan. Ok, so Colin was the only one who golfed, but I had the all important task of driving the buggy! *ha* Golf aside, we also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Taman Sari Spa, a few huge buffet meals, and some games of pool! The day after we came back from Bintan, Colin left for another business trip to Hong Kong/China. Luckily we managed to have a nice home-cooked dinner before his 5-day trip.
We had a stew of beef with baby carrots, potatoes, onions, which was totally yummy with rice.

Fried Broccoli with the remaining slices of beef
and lastly, a super tasty Lao Huang Gua soup boiled with pork, red dates, and some other chinese herbs. Colin, being Cantonese, loves his soups and is usually the one boiling our soups.

After Colin left, it was back to eating alone. Here are some of my meals since -
Whampoa hawker centre has the BEST ban mian in Singapore (in my opinion!). I love both the soup and dry versions, which comes with a fiery chilli sauce! (Chilli lovers, please don't gei kiang and ask for more chilli coz this one is really POTENT!) Had the dry version that day, and saved the packet of free ikan bilis soup for my dinner of Niang Doufu instant noodles! Bought assorted Niang Doufu from the wet market for $1, so effectively, I only spent $4 for my lunch and dinner combined! *YAY*
Angel Hair with Olives and Sausages tossed in Tomato Sauce was my lunch for today
And for dinner, Kimchi Ramen with real Kimchi, Enoki Mushroom, Caixin, meat balls, and fish cake

Noticed a trend yet? What can I say, apart from being a total noodle fanatic, noodle dishes are just so much simpler to cook for one! :Þ